'Barbie' movie soundtrack earns 11 Grammy nominations, including Ryan Gosling's Ken song
Ryan Gosling is more than Kenough: He's helped the "Barbie" movie rack up Grammy nominations.
Gosling's earnest performance in the power ballad-turned-anthemic rock song "I'm Just Ken" on Friday received a Grammy nomination for best song written for visual media. It was among 11 nominations that the soundtrack for the year's biggest film collected for the 2024 Grammys.
Dua Lipa's "Dance The Night," "Barbie World" with Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice (featuring Aqua) and Billie Eilish's "What Was I Made For?" also earned "Barbie The Album" nods from the Recording Academy.
Eilish's track led the bunch with nominations for record of the year, best pop solo performance, song of the year and best song written for visual media. (It also received a nomination for best music video, which didn't include credit to "Barbie The Album.")
Here are all the categories in which "Barbie" is represented among the 2024 Grammy nominations.
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All the Grammy nominations Andrew Wyatt, Mark Ronson's 'Barbie' soundtrack received
There are all 11 nominations "Barbie The Album" received for the 2024 awards ceremony.
- Record of the year: "What Was I Made For?" (Billie Eilish)
- Song of the year: "What Was I Made For?" (Billie Eilish, performer; Billie Eilish O'Connell & Finneas O'Connell, songwriters)
- Song of the year: "Dance The Night" (Dua Lipa, performer; Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, songwriters)
- Best Pop Solo Performance: "What Was I Made For?" (Billie Eilish)
- Best Rap Song: "Barbie World" (Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice featuring Aqua, performers; Naija Gaston, Ephrem Louis Lopez Jr. & Onika Maraj, songwriters)
- Best song written for visual media: "What Was I Made For?" (Billie Eilish, performer; Billie Eilish O'Connell & Finneas O'Connell, songwriters)
- Best song written for visual media: "Dance The Night" (Dua Lipa, performer; Caroline Ailin, Dua Lipa, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, songwriters)
- Best song written for visual media: "I'm Just Ken" (Ryan Gosling, performer; Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, songwriters)
- Best song written for visual media: "Barbie World" (Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice featuring Aqua, performers; Naija Gaston, Ephrem Louis Lopez Jr. & Onika Maraj, songwriters)
- Best compilation soundtrack for visual media: "Barbie The Album" (Various Artists)
- Best score soundtrack for visual media: "Barbie The Album" (Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt)
Our critic's review:'Barbie' album is the kind of stellar original soundtrack we haven't heard in years
'I'm Just Ken' was, indeed, a standout on 'Barbie The Album'
In her review of the soundtrack, USA TODAY music critic Melissa Ruggieri called "I'm Just Ken" a standout on the album.
Gosling's showpiece "starts as a power ballad, zigs into a fist-clenching angst rocker, zags into an Elton John-esque instrumental and then returns to '80s-style anthemic rock," Ruggieri wrote. "Through it all, Gosling, his voice vaguely reminiscent of Elvis Costello, begs Barbie to give him a chance, promising, 'I'm just Ken … I'm great at doing stuff.'"
She continued: "'Barbie The Album' feels like an occasion, the way blockbuster soundtracks of the '80s – looking at you "Top Gun," "Dirty Dancing," "Footloose" – commandeered radio for months with a cascade of hits."
The soundtrack, described as "delightfully frothy but not afraid to delve into feelings," comprises 17 original songs from artists including Sam Smith, Ava Max, Tame Impala and Lizzo, as well as one cover (Brandi Carlile wrenching hearts with The Indigo Girls' "Closer to Fine").
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